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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — all right
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in biology
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bat — the animal
  21. march — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — the month
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com